1 Before you begin to read, you need to gear yourself up. You need to get motivated. Make yourself want to read the assignment. There are several ways to do this.2 First, anticipate what you are about to read. Read the title. Then, begin making predictions about the article. Activate the knowledge you already have about the subject.3 For example, let's say you are reading about how crayons are made. You have used crayons before. You know that they are made of wax. So you predict that the process has something to do with melting wax. You also know that crayons come in different colors. You can predict that during the process, color is somehow added to the wax. You can make more predictions based on how much you already know about crayons. Write these predictions down.4 Another way to activate your knowledge is to make a KWL chart. This is a three column chart on a piece of paper. The "K" stands for what you already KNOW. Write your statements down in the "K" column. Now you will be motivated to read the passage to find out more information about this topic.